H.E. Arturo Fermandios, Ambassador of Chile to the U.S., (center) gestures as he speaks at the Institute of Politics Forum along with other Harvard Kennedy School alumni invited to discuss public service yesterday.

The first Institute of Politics forum of the semester—“Ask What You Can Do: Inspiring Public Service”—began with a somewhat somber address from Kennedy School Dean David T. Ellwood ’75.

Referring to the economic crisis, the BP oil spill, and Hurricane Earl, Ellwood called the present period “a terrifying time.”

But Ellwood said he saw hope in the work of the Kennedy School and its students.

“We really do need great leaders,” he said.

The panel brought together four Kennedy School alumni who worked in various areas of public service, though with different political bents: Patricia Clarey, former chief of staff to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger; Chilean Ambassador to the United States Arturo Fermandois; US Army Deputy Director for Strategic Planning and Policy Brigadier General Charles W. Hooper; and Political Analyst Jamal Simmons.

While the panelists came from different sides of the aisle and various parts of the globe, they all agreed that public service is more rewarding than working in the private sector.

Describing an incident in which he had worked with NASA and the state of Pennsylvania to help save a group of miners trapped in a mine in Chile, Fermandois recalled the feeling of working toward a common goal in public service.

“That’s something that, in my case, for the first time you feel something that you don’t get in the private sector, which is belonging to a large team,” Fermandois said.

Hooper admitted that the most frustrating part of his job is dealing with rivalries among politicians, which he said detracts from the common goal of bettering society, but added that the Kennedy School taught him to move past petty rivalries.

“The reason the republic works so well is that at some point we move past that in a civil fashion, and we sit down, and we talk, and we work it out,” Hooper said.

Kennedy School students said they enjoyed the event, noting that a reminder of the importance of public service as a vocation was a good way to start the semester.

“I think I appreciated that the panel highlighted the commonalties that exist between all people who work in public service, regardless of political, religious, social, and economic leanings,” said Tyler S. Thigpen. “It’s just a desire to help people. It encourages my spirit, and it made me proud to be associated with them.

—Staff writer Sofia E. Groopman can be reached at segroopm@fas.harvard.edu.